Risky business working with IoT Tech?

With the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming more and more prevalent in our modern age, you have to wonder whether there’s been more risk as well. After all, having things watching or listening all day every day is certainly a lot different than just when you’re accessing a device.

Cybersecurity is a big deal to a lot of people, both consumer and company, but the fact is that not a lot of companies are really looking into the security of the devices they’re using which are tied into the IoT. From TV’s to toasters, thermostats to baby monitors — these are just some of the IoT-enabled devices that have already been hacked. Even with those risks, it seems companies are only bringing more and more IoT-enabled devices into their homes.

Just how many companies is this affecting?

As crazy as it may seem, a survey conducted just last year consisting of around 1,000 enterprise IT buyers, 71% are already gathering IoT data and 90% plan on increasing their IoT spending for this year. With those numbers, we can clearly see most companies are definitely investing in IoT technology.

Data tracked by devices include movement tracking, purchases, equipment and supply tagging, and much more. With so much different data being collected from various devices on a minute-by-minute basis, companies would be crazy not to invest.

Even with their multitude of uses for companies of all different areas of expertise, the biggest issue still in everybody’s way is security. As complex as these new machines and devices are, they simply don’t have the appropriate level of encryption or a strong enough password.

What’s being done to counter this?

Not a lot. Companies are wholly unprepared for a cyber attack from an IoT device. A recent study by the Ponemon Institute shows that 55% of IT department respondents say that there is a lack of quality assurance and testing procedures for IoT apps.

With competition so high as companies race to ship out new, exciting products, errors are bound to happen. The fact is that they’re just moving too fast, without enough internal policies, which leads to errors in code.

In fact, nearly 50% of companies believe that they were victims of a cyberattack or security breach thanks to an IoT app. Interestingly, also roughly 50% said they would consider increasing their budget or put new regulations in place if a severe hacking incident took place..

With over 20 billion devices expected to be installed by the end of this decade, many of which will be used by government or businesses, I’d say it’s already time to start becoming more prepares. The hackers aren’t going to wait for you to get around to it, so why should you wait for them?